Insect trap

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an insect trap which is especially intended for catching and/or rendering harmless flying insects and/or harmful insects. The insect trap ( 10 ), in a first embodiment, has a planar or curved, light surface ( 12 ) and at least one dark contrast spot ( 16 ) disposed inside said surface. The insect trap ( 10 ), in a second embodiment, has a diffuser surface ( 14 ) for producing a weak air current ( 22 ) that emanates from said surface. Both embodiments can be combined as required to increase the effectiveness of the trap. The insect trap ( 10 ) is further provided with devices for keeping, catching and/or eliminating trapped insects ( 42 ) on a surface of the trap and/or in a cavity ( 20 ) arranged therein. Insect traps of the above mentioned type are used in pest control indoors and outdoors and for detecting an insect density (monitoring).

The invention relates to an insect trap, in particular for flying and/orharmful insects, with the characteristics of independent claims 1 and 2.

Blood-sucking insects constitute one of the most significant healthissues worldwide, as they spread numerous diseases (for example malaria,yellow fever, dengue, etc.) to both humans and animals and are generallyburdensome. Insecticides are used for wide-scale destruction of thesepests. A further possibility for controlling and fighting pest insectsis the use of traps that are principally intended for small areas, inparticular for closed spaces.

Insect traps are known in many types and styles. Simplest is the use offlypaper that is coated with glue so that the insects that contact withit get stuck. Other variants emit ultraviolet light or ultrasound and inthis manner draw in insect pests. There are also device that usearomatic attractants, for example along with an air stream, so that theattracted insects are sucked by the air stream into a space and heldthere.

Such traps are described in US 2001/0045051 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,249.With this type of trap an attractant is distributed by a blower inside acylindrical tube so as to draw in insects. Once they get close to thetrap, the air stream sucks them into the trap. To this end a furthertube is provided around the cylindrical tube. The insects are suckedinto a space between the two coaxial tubes.

With the known types of traps carbon dioxide is used, since this gas isrecognized by insects as what is exhaled by humans and animals andtherefore attracts them.

The effectiveness and efficiency of the hitherto known traps is howevermainly limited because they cannot be fully effective to neutralize allthe insects in a given room or space. In addition the traps that emitcarbon dioxide are relatively expensive to make and operate.

It is an object of the invention to provided an insect trap that issimple to make and also inexpensive to run and efficient.

This object of the invention is achieved by the features of theindependent claims. Features of preferred embodiments of the inventionare seen in the dependent claims.

A first variant of the insect trap according to the invention, that isin particular for flying and/or pest insects, has a planar or curvedlight surface region surrounding at least one dark contrast surfaceregion. The insect further has means for holding, trapping and/orkilling attracted insects on a surface of the insect trap and/or in itsinterior. This first variant of an insect trap is based on therecognition that dark objects attract many insects. Tests with thissystem have shown that a light surface region with a dark spot in it,for example in its center, is very attractive for certain insects anddraws them. Hitherto it has only been recognized that dark objects arecapable of attracting certain types of insects. The invention improveson this by providing a dark contrast region on a light background.

A variant of the insect trap according to the invention has an outputsurface for producing a weak air stream passing out through the surfaceand means for holding, trapping and/or killing attracted insects on asurface of the insect trap and/or in its interior. Tests have shown thesurprising effect that a weak and uniform air stream spread over a largesurface is attractive for many insects and draws them. This can beexplained in that the weak air stream over a large surface area is likethe warm air flow of a human or animal body that is in particularrecognized by gnats (aedes aegypti) and blood-sucking insects and thatdraws them.

The two described variants of the invention can be combined with eachother in that a light surface region with a dark contrast region isprovided with an output surface or formed as one. This increases theeffectiveness of the trap.

According to an embodiment of the invention at least the light surfaceregion or parts of it are covered with glue and/or an insecticide. Inaddition at least the dark contrast surface region can be covered withglue and/or an insecticide, so that the upper surface of the trapfunctions to hold the attracted insects. Alternatively the insects canbe killed by contact with the trap surface. This can be done byenergizing the surface with electricity, for example with a screen orthe like that is energized.

The weak air stream coming from the output surface preferably has anaverage flow speed of about 2 to 100 cm/sec, better between 3 and 50cm/sec, and preferably from 5 to 20 cm/sec so that the weak air streamaccurately imitates the convection air stream rising off a human oranimal body.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized byan attractant that is emitted by the trap. This is based on therecognition that the smell of a human or animal body is particularlyattractive for insects when it is carried by a weak uniformly spread-outair stream. There are situations in which carbon dioxide is used. Thisis an attractive that is contained in breathed air. Such an addition ofcarbon dioxide is thus particularly attractive for insects when the airflow is discontinuous and in exhalations streams. On the other hand anattractant imitating body odors is particularly attractive for insectswhen it is carried in a weak air or convective stream as provided for bythe instant invention.

Preferably the attractant is emitted by the entire light surface region.The attractant can for example be in a coating of the upper surface in apredetermined concentration. To this end a binder is applied to thelight and/or dark surface regions in which the attractant is dissolvedand that is in a predetermined concentration. Such a binder an inparticular be a glue to which the attracted insects stick. So that theattractant is uniformly emitted and carried off in a convective stream,the trap surface can be heated, for example by heating wires or thelike.

A particularly preferred variant uses a combination of olfactory andvisual attractants for the insects. Such a preferred embodiment of theinvention has an output surface that is a light surface regionsurrounding at least one dark contrast surface region. The light surfaceregion has an area of at least 30 cm², preferably an area of at least100 cm² in order to be effective at a distance. Such a combined opticaland olfactory effect of the insect trap according to the inventionimitates particularly well the human or animal body so that such a trapis highly attractive and is therefore very effective for many insects,in particular the blood-sucking types.

A further embodiment of the invention provides that at least one intakeopening for drawing in attracted insects is provided near the trap.Alternatively a plurality of intake openings are provided around thelight surface region or around the output surface. In particular anannular intake opening surrounds the light surface region or the outputsurface. In this manner the attracted insects can be sucked into theinterior or into a container in which they are collected and from whichthey cannot fly out. If desired this space can hold an insecticide sothat the insects are killed right there.

A preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the dark contrastsurface region is a dark intake passage. Thus an inner surface of thetubular intake passage is preferably provided with a dark coating sothat the intake passage itself forms the contrast surface region on thelight surface region. A flow speed at or in the intake passage or at orin the intake opening is at least 1 m/sec, and can in a preferredembodiment be about 2 m/sec.

This ensures that insects that get near the intake passage or the intakeopening are sucked in and cannot fly out. At the same time this ensuresthat the insects cannot fly against the air stream and escape afterbeing caught from the interior.

A further preferred embodiment of the invention provides a blower in thetrap for providing the intake flow in the intake passage or in theintake opening and/or the weak air stream from the output surface. Thefan can in particular form an annular flow, drawing the air in centrallyat the intake opening or through the intake passage and expelling thesucked-in air through the large output surface as a uniform weak airstream. The ratio of areas of the intake passage hd the output surfaceare such that the desired air speeds are obtained.

Preferably a device inside the trap uniformly supplies the attractant tothe weak air stream. Such a device can be several vessels with theindividual components of the attractant or different tubes with thecomponents of the attractant, since the attractant is typically notsupplied as a mixture but as individual components and is only combinedwith put into the air. Such an attractant can in particular be a mixtureof milk acids, capron acids, and ammonia, as for example described inprovisional U.S. application 60/386,582 of 07 Jun. 2002. The componentsand attractant mixture described in this application are incorporated byreference in this application.

The output surface can be a mesh with a light weave whose mesh size issmaller than the insects to be caught in the trap. In this manner thelight surface region is formed and at the same time the trap is closedto the outside so that insects caught in it cannot fly out through themesh.

The intake passage has preferably a minimum length that ensure s arelatively uniform flow in the passage and near the passage. A typicalintake-passage length can for example be between 5 and 10 cm. Thetypical diameter of the intake passage can for example be between 3 and15 cm. The dimensions of the output surface and the intake passagedepend in particular on the overall size of the trap and on the desiredrelationship between the flow speeds in the passage and from theemitting device. Even the typical sizes of the preferred insect beingtrapped influence the actual dimensions of the intake passage and of thetrap.

An embodiment of the invention has an additional screen upstream of thefan in the intake passage so that the sucked-in insects do not get intothe interior of the trap, but are collected at the lower end of theintake passage. According to a preferred embodiment the intake passageupstream of the fan holds an insert that can if necessary be providedwith glue or an insecticide and that is periodically taken out of thetrap and emptied. In order to prevent that drawn-in insects fly outagain, the fan can be set to run permanently. If the fan does not runall the time, it can be advantageous to provide a flared catchment fromwhich the insects cannot fly out. With such a variant the fan is set tooperate periodically.

In a preferred embodiment according to the invention the insect trap ishollow and cylindrical and has at one end the output surface and thedark intake passage in it. An end panel of the hollow cylindrical trapcan be concave or convex. In addition it preferably for it to have aclosed floor carrying means for supplying the attractant.

The end surface of the hollow-cylindrical trap is directed upward. Thetrap thus has in comparison to a trap that emits carbon dioxide, theadvantage of being more easily seen by insects, since they can perceivethe light surface or the outflowing attractant better than with adownwardly directed active face of the trap. Carbon-dioxide trapsnormally emit downward since CO₂ is heavier than air and naturallydrops.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention the trap is spherical withan outer surface on which are distributed intake passages. At least partof an outer ball surface is formed as the output surface. Preferablygenerally the entire outer ball surface is formed as the output surface.

In a further embodiment a cover is provided spaced above the trap toprotect it from the weather. The cover can prevent rain from gettinginto the trap and making it less effective. The cover can if desired bytransparent so that insects see the light surface with the dark contrastspot. Alternatively, the cover can itself serve as an opticalattractant. To this end it can be formed as the light surface with oneor more dark contrast spots.

The trap is preferably freely hanging, for example by a string or chainfrom a tree, structure or other appropriate support.

The insect traps according to the invention are perfect not only fordealing with pests in closed spaces and in the open, but also fordetermining the insect population in a given area.

For such monitoring these traps are set out in the area to be checkedfor a predetermined time and the number of caught insects is determined.This monitoring can serve to determine the necessity or effectivity ofantipest systems before applying them and/or after using them.

The invention is more closely described in the following with referenceto preferred embodiments. Therein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of an upper surface of an insect trap;

FIG. 2 is a schematic section through a first variant of the insecttrap;

FIGS. 3 to 5 are schematic sections through alternative variants ofinsect traps;

FIG. 6 is a schematic top view of a further alternative variant of aninsect trap;

FIG. 7 is a schematic section through the trap of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of a further variant of the insect trap;

FIG. 9 is a schematic section through the trap of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of an insect trap according tothe invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an alternative variant of an insect trapaccording to the invention; and

FIG. 12 is a pendant trap with a cover.

The schematic top view of FIG. 1 shows the basic principle of theoptical functioning of an insect trap 10. It has a trap upper surface 18having an outer light region 12 and a contrast region 16 inside thelight region 12. The contrast region 16 is substantially darker than thelight region 12, here black. The entire upper surface 18 and its partscan, according to how the trap 10 is made, be an output surface 14 thatemits a weak air stream 22 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 7, and 9). While the trapupper surface 18 is shown in the drawing as being circular, any othershape can be used. The trap upper surface 18 does not have to be planarbut can be curved inward or outward.

FIG. 2 shows a simple first variant of the insect trap 10 in a schematicsectional view. The uniformly light region 12 on the trap upper surface18 and the generally central contrast region 16 are shown. Such a trapattracts purely optically, since a dark or black contrast against alight background is very attractive for many insects and they fly towardit. The dark contrast region 16 can be treated with glue or aninsecticide so that the insects that land on it are trapped and/orkilled.

FIG. 3 shows in another schematic section a second variant of an insecttrap 10 where the light region 12 serves as an output surface 14. A weakair stream 22 flows out of this output surface 14 with a flow speed ofless than 100 cm/sec. In particular the flow speed of the weak airstream 22 can be about 5 to 20 cm/sec and thus apes a convection streamfrom human or animal skin so as to be attractive to insects. The weakair stream 22 can move out of an output surface 14 formed as a mesh.Even the contrast region 16 in the middle of the light surface 12forming the output surface 14 can be an output surface. This secondvariant uses the optical effect of the dark contrast spot in the centerof the mechanical attractant of the weak air stream as has been foundattractive for many insects as it imitates the warm convective air flowoff a skin surface. It has been shown extremely effective in tests, asblood-sucking insects are attracted by such an air stream which theymistake for the convective air flow off a body.

FIG. 4 shows a variant of the insect trap 10 according to the inventionin schematic section. This variant produces a weak air stream 22 outsidethe light region 12. The contract region 16 is formed as an intakeopening 24, in the illustrated embodiment connected to an intake passagethrough which an intake stream 25 moves into an interior 20 of theinsect trap 10. The weak air stream 22 in this embodiment of the insecttrap 10 can also carry an attractant that draws the desired insects. Theattractant can imitate emissions of a human or animal body and becomprised of several components that are mixed together in the stream22.

The intake stream 25 is at least strong enough that an insect that getsnear it is sucked into the intake passage 26 and cannot get out. Whenthe intake passage 26 has a dark coating on its inner surface 28 it actsas a contrast region 16 so that this trap has optical, mechanical (viathe air stream), and olfactory (by the attractant) action. Such acombination effect has a high trapping rate since the insects arestimulated and attracted in several ways.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic section through a further variant of the insecttrap 10 according to the invention where the light region 12 is formedas an output surface 14 through which the weak air stream 22 passes. Thecontrast region 16 is again a dark-coated intake opening 24 or passage26 through which flows a strong intake stream 25 with a flow speed ofmore than 1 m/sec, preferably 2 m/sec or more. Insects attracted by theweak air stream 22 or the contrast region 16 are sucked through theintake passage 26 into the trap interior 20. Preferably an attractantcan be carried by the weak air stream 22.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an alternative variant of an insect trap 10 where thetrap upper surface 18 is formed as a light region 12 with an annularsurrounding intake opening 24. The intake opening 24 serves forproducing an intake stream 25 into the interior 20 of the insect trap10. Here also the light region 12 is formed as an output surface 14through which the weak air stream 22 passes. The air stream 22 can evenas described carry an attractant.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a further alternative variant where several contrastregions 16 are provided on a light region 12. Here only the lightregions 12 or the entire trap upper surface 18 can form an outputsurface 14 through which the weak air stream 22 flows to the outside.Even with this variant the weak air stream can carry an attractant.

An entire insect trap 10 is shown in FIG. 10. The insect trap 10 has acylindrical body defining an interior 20 and having an end panel formingthe trap upper surface 18. The trap upper surface 18 has a light region12 formed as an output surface and that has a central contrast region 16that in the illustrated embodiment is formed as an intake passage with adark-coated inner surface 28. The light surface 12 can be formed by amesh 15 that is spanned on the hollow cylindrical trap and through whichthe weak air stream 22 moves outward.

At the lower end of the intake passage 26 is a fan or blower 30 thatproduces the intake stream 25 into the interior 20 of the insect trap10. A floor 34 of the interior 20 has several attractant holders 38 thateach emit a component of an attractant 40 in the desired concentrationso that the attractant 40 is optimally mixed and expelled outward in theweak air stream 22. The light region 12 and the diameter of the intakepassage 26 are such that the one fan 30 serves both to produced thedesired intake stream of about 2 m/sec and the desired weak air streamof 5 to 20 cm/sec. Preferably there is a screen upstream of the fan 30to prevent the insects from getting inside it.

A particularly advantageous embodiment provides an insert in the intakepassage 26 that can be taken out and emptied once it is full of insects.The intake stream 25 is at least strong enough that insects 42 near thetrap 10 are sucked into the intake passage 26 and cannot escape.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic representation of an alternative embodiment ofthe insect trap that in this case is formed as a sphere. The sphereouter surface 36 of the insect trap 10 can be an output surface 14.preferably several intake passages 26 are distributed over the ballsurface so that at least one dark contrast region 16 is visible from anyangle on the light ball surface. The spherical insect trap 10 accordingto FIG. 11 is more effective than the cylindrical embodiment of FIG. 10as a result of its larger effective surface area, since the opticalcomponent with the dark contrast regions 16 of the intake passages 26 iseffective in all directions.

In all the described embodiments that have a weak air stream 22 movingthrough an output surface 14 this can also serve to carry an attractant40. The weak air stream 22 imitates a convective updraft of a human oranimal body. The attractant 40 can be like human or animal emanations.Preferably other attractants can be used that draw insects.

The contrast region 16 inside the light region 12 is preferablysufficiently dark that it optically attracts the insects 42. Tests haveproven that individual dark contrast regions on a light backgroundattract many insects so that the system of this invention can operatepurely optically.

Finally, FIG. 12 shows a pendant trap 10 with a cover 44 spaced aboveit. The trap 10 can have any shape, for example a hollow cylinder or aball corresponding to FIG. 10 or 11. The cover 44 can preferably betransparent so as not to shield the light regions 12 of the trap withthe dark contrast regions from the insects. Alternatively the cover 44itself can be a light region with dark contrast regions in it, in orderto draw insects from a distance.

The insect trap according to the invention is particularly effective forgnats, mosquitos, and other stinging and/or blood-sucking flyinginsects.

1-35. (canceled)
 36. An insect trap comprising: a generally hollow bodyhaving a foraminous wall region of a predetermined area; means includinga fan in the body for expelling air through the region in a weak stream;and means on the body for holding insects attracted by the weak stream.37. The insect trap defined in claim 36 wherein the fan displaces theair stream through the region at a speed between 2 cm/sec and 100cm/sec.
 38. The insect trap defined in claim 37 wherein the speed isbetween 3 cm/sec and 50 cm/sec.
 39. The insect trap defined in claim 37wherein the speed is between 5 cm/sec and 20 cm/sec.
 40. The insect trapdefined in claim 36 wherein the body is formed with a passage having anopening adjacent the region and of a cross-sectional size equal tosubstantially less than the predetermined area, the fan having an intakeconnected only to the passage and an output connected only to theforaminous region, whereby air is sucked into the passage at an intakespeed much greater than a speed at which air is expelled through theforaminous region.
 41. The insect trap defined in claim 40 wherein aflow speed in the intake passage is at least 1 m/sec.
 42. The insecttrap defined in claim 41 wherein the flow speed in the intake passage isat least 2 m/sec.
 43. The insect trap defined in claim 40 wherein a flowspeed in the intake passage is at least about ten times greater than aflow speed of the weak current through the foraminous region.
 44. Theinsect trap defined in claim 36 wherein the foraminous region is a mesh.45. The insect trap defined in claim 36 wherein the foraminous region isa generally horizontal upper surface of an upper end of the body. 46.The insect trap defined in claim 45 wherein the body is centered on anupright axis.
 47. The insect trap defined in claim 46 wherein the bodyis formed with a passage having an opening upwardly centrally the regionand of a cross-sectional size equal to substantially less than thepredetermined area, the fan having an intake connected only to thepassage and an output connected only to the foraminous region, wherebyair is sucked into the passage at an intake speed much greater than aspeed at which air is expelled through the foraminous region.
 48. Theinsect trap defined in claim 47 wherein the body has a substantiallyclosed floor underneath the fan and substantially closed side wallsextending axially between the floor and the upper end of the body. 49.The insect trap defined in claim 48 wherein the side walls form anupright tubular cylinder centered on the axis.
 50. The insect trapdefined in claim 48, further comprising a screen in the passage upstreamof the fan intake.
 51. The insect trap defined in claim 48, furthercomprising means in the body for emitting an attractant to be carried bythe air stream through the region out of the body.
 52. The insect trapdefined in claim 51 wherein the means for emitting includes a pluralityof separate vessels each hold a respective component of the attractant.53. The insect trap defined in claim 47 wherein the foraminous region islight colored and the passage has an inner surface with a dark coating.54. The insect trap defined in claim 46 wherein the body is formed witha passage having an opening upwardly annularly around the region and ofa cross-sectional size equal to substantially less than thepredetermined area, the fan having an intake connected only to thepassage and an output connected only to the foraminous region, wherebyair is sucked into the passage at an intake speed much greater than aspeed at which air is expelled through the foraminous region.
 55. Theinsect trap defined in claim 46, further comprising a cover suspendedspacedly above the body and oriented to shield the body from above.